IPGC golf from The Links
Sunday, January 29, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
The largest turnout of the year for the increasingly popular Pattaya Country Club led to a slightly hectic start as the course initially didn’t have enough caddies and carts to satisfy the demand. However this was soon rectified by the ever efficient staff, and we managed to get off the tee slightly earlier than our allotted time, although the pace of play was a little slow throughout.
The large field was split into 3 flights, with the cuts coming at 0-14, 15-21 and 22+.
Jon Batty and Joe Peters.
In the A flight, JJ Harney, playing off single figures for the first time, made light work of his new handicap, his 38 points good enough for third place, missing out on a 21/20 count back to Jon Batty, playing off the same handicap and finally back playing the kind of golf we all know he is capable of. However, this was not enough as Teddy Lodge took the spoils, shooting the same 79 gross score for 40 points off his 11 handicap.
In the B flight, Andy Galvin narrowly missed out on a place, losing the count back to Cliff North after both players posted the regulation 36 points. Frank McGowan was second with 39 points, behind Noel Reynolds whose 41 points were highest score of all the divisions, and should ensure a sufficient cut to qualify for the A flight now, for quite some time.
In the C flight, Roar Berger won for the second week running, scoring 37 points, ahead of Toni Nichols and Rod Howett, with 34 and 32 respectively.
With such a large field, it was inevitable there would be a number of two’s, with JJ Harney (2), Frank McGowan (2), Teddy Lodge, Andy Galvin and Noel Reynolds sharing the pot.
A Flight
1st Teddy Lodge (11) 40pts
2nd Jon Batty (9) 38pts
3rd JJ Harney (9) 38pts
B Flight
1st Noel Reynolds (15) 41pts
2nd Frank McGowan (16) 39pts
3rd Cliff North (21) 36pts
C Flight
1st Roar Berger (27) 37pts
2nd Toni Nichols (23) 34pts
3rd Rod Howett (24) 32pts
Tuesday, Jan 31, Green Valley – Stableford
26 players made the trip to the old favourite, Green Valley, our first visit since we changed our regular Sunday venue. This is always an enjoyable course to play, and as usual was in excellent condition, with the greens much improved from the last time we visited.
In the A flight, Joe Peters, despite being cut 3 shots last week, took the honours with 37 points on a course he always seems to play well. Joe McArdle, ably aided as ever by his regular caddy, Som, was second with 35 points, 3 ahead of Jon Batty in third.
Sekio Ojima topped the B flight in his final week in Thailand; the always smiling Japanese belying his age to shoot 35 points. His generosity back in the Links afterwards was much appreciated by his playing partners, myself included! Theresa Connolly was second, one point behind, with Frank McGowan back in third.
Frank also followed on from his brace of ‘2’s on Sunday, clearing the pot with the only ‘2’ of the day.
A Flight
1st Joe Peters (15) 37pts
2nd Joe McArdle (12) 35pts
3rd Jon Batty (9) 32pts
B Flight
1st Sekio Ojima (24) 35pts
2nd Theresa Connolly (25) 34 pts
3rd Frank McGowan (17) 31pts
Thursday, Feb 2, Greenwood – Stableford
A few late cancellations, coupled with most regulars playing in the previous day’s IPGC medal, meant a much reduced field took the minibus up the 331 to Greenwood. With only 11 of us, we were unable to take advantage of the full IPGC discount, but at 1,100 baht including caddy, this course is still well worth the money.
We tackled the A&C courses, the most difficult combination at Greenwood, and with the subtly sloping greens measuring 9.5 on the stimp and the rough thick and lush, points were hard to come by, for most.
Three players tied on 31 points, Bill Wilkinson just missing out on a place, his 15 point back 9 falling just short of Sekio Ojima (16) and JJ Harney 17. Your author, however, continued his recent run of form and produced his best golf in Thailand so far, coming home 8 points clear, a score that will no doubt come to the attention of the handicapper this coming weekend.
There were no ‘2’s on the tricky par 3’s, so the pot was rolled over to Sunday.
1st Jon Batty (9) 39pts
2nd JJ Harney (9) 31pts
3rd Seki Ojima (24) 31pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10.00am for Pattaya Country Club every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org.
